美国参议院批准里程碑意义的移民法案

 　　WASHINGTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate passed a landmark¹ comprehensive immigration bill on Thursday that would offer an earned citizenship² for about 11 million undocumented immigrants and tighten³ security on the Mexican border.

　　

　　The bill, approved in the Senate after three weeks of debate on the floor and months of negotiations⁴, now advances to even greater uncertainties⁵ in the House of Representatives, where many oppose citizenship for illegal immigrants.

　　

　　MONTHS OF EFFORTS

　　

　　Vice⁶ President Joe Biden, who presided the roll call from the Senate's dais, announced that the bill had been approved by 68 to 32, more than the majority needed to send the measure to the House.

　　

　　Fourteen of the 46 Republicans in the 100-member chamber⁷ joined all 52 Democrats⁸ and two independents to support the bill, which tops President Barack Obama's second-term domestic agenda.

　　

　　Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy hailed the vote which marked an end to years of bipartisan gridlock on immigration, saying "Today is another historic day in the Senate."

　　

　　Sponsors of the bill believed that the Senate's approval may serve as the biggest boost in decades for the issue of immigration overhaul¹⁰ to become legislation.

　　

　　"Make no mistake about it, the support this bill has generated here in the Senate will be impossible to ignore," Senator Charles Schummer, the lead Democratic sponsor, said before the vote. "I believe the support the bill will receive today in the Senate will propel it to pass the House and be placed for signature on the president's desk by the end of the year."

　　

　　The bill was drafted and sponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators, dubbed¹¹ as Gang of Eight. The group includes top-ranking Democrats and leading Republicans on immigration reforms like veteran Senator John McCain and Hispanic Republican star Marco Rubio.

　　

　　The bill, which was unveiled in April and has so far received the most attention nationwide, echoes the goals set by the president since the very beginning of his second term. Both of their agenda include giving an earned citizenship to 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the country, toughening border security as well as awarding green cards to high- skilled foreign workers.

　　

　　OBAMA'S TOP AGENDA

　　

　　Obama, on a visit to Africa, moved quickly to applaud the Senate's approval.

　　

　　"Today, with a strong bipartisan vote, the United States Senate delivered for the American people, bringing us a critical step closer to fixing our broken immigration system once and for all," said Obama in a statement.

　　

　　The president, however, urged the Congress to "finish its job." "Today, the Senate did its job. It's now up to the House to do the same," he said.

　　

　　Obama also warned those stakeholders to "keep a watchful¹² eye" over the immigration overhaul, which is well expected to meet greater resistance in the House.

　　

　　"Now is the time when opponents will try their hardest to pull this bipartisan effort apart so they can stop common-sense reform from becoming a reality. We can not let that happen," he said.

　　

　　Obama said that the Senate bill, if enacted¹³, would establish " the most aggressive border security plan in our history." It was the measure that has helped secure Republican support needed to pass the bill through the Senate.

　　

　　The U.S. demographic landscape is undergoing a major shift as the current minority communities continue to grow while the whites could become minority in the next three decades, according to U.S. census¹⁴.

　　

　　Hispanics, a fast-growing group in particular, is a huge target group that Democrats hope to secure and Republicans aspire¹⁵ to win back in future elections. Latino-Americans voted for Obama over Republican challenger Mitt⁹ Romney 71 percent to 27 percent in the 2012 presidential race.

　　

　　The White House is now trying to keep focus on Obama's second- term agenda, while major controversies¹⁶ have dominated the headlines in recent weeks, including the National Security Agency' s secret surveillance programs disclosed by 30-year-old defense¹⁷ contractor¹⁸ employee Edward Snowden.

　　

　　ROCKY ROAD AHEAD

　　

　　The past decade or so saw several unsuccessful bids to overhaul a U.S. immigration law enacted in 1986.

　　

　　Advocates for immigration reform now see a decent chance for legislation to pass through the Capitol Hill this year.

　　

　　Although it has passed the Democratic-controlled Senate with a bipartisan support, the bill will still have a longer and tougher way to go in the Republican-dominated House.

　　

　　The overhaul, which offers a 13-year path to citizenship to millions of undocumented immigrants, has been opposed by many Republicans in the lower chamber.

　　

　　House Speaker John Boehner said in the day that the House would not simply take up and vote on the Senate bill.

　　

　　"For any legislation, including a conference report, to pass the House, it's going to have to be a bill that has the support of a majority of our members," he said.

　　

　　Although some House Republicans have said a bill could be on the floor some time in July, Boehner declined to say when the full House might debate and vote on an immigration bill.

　　

　　He said he will huddle¹⁹ with his fellow Republicans following a July 4 recess²⁰.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

3 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

10 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

11 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

13 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

15 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

16 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

17 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

18 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

19 huddle   

vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人

参考例句：

• They like living in a huddle.他们喜欢杂居在一起。
• The cold wind made the boy huddle inside his coat.寒风使这个男孩卷缩在他的外衣里。

20 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。